Play: Winner's Curse

Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Winner's Curse, at the Park Theatre - an interactive show about a peace negotiation. Turned out North London Friends were headed to it tonight too - what, are they now copying this group, as another group did some time ago? (since closed down). Left it so late I had to eat at Pret, ironically! (given that I thought I'd have to do that last night.)

It's actually not that far from where I live to the Park Theatre - so I still had time for the bus. Arrived in decent time for a chat with the others - it was a large group, tonight. We met in the upstairs bar, which has more seating - and would you credit it, the upstairs bar actually had someone behind the counter! Serving! Now, I cannot remember the last time that happened. If I'd known, I needn't have carried a glass of wine upstairs - never a safe prospect.

My seat for the play was in one of the rows in the Circle that's behind another row. This was to prove interesting, as I had to squeeze past a lot of people to get to my seat - and it was snug, to say the least. Not only that, but I then discovered I'd overshot - which meant that someone had been in my space! So I had to let them up to the gap where I was, then squeeze my way back down again - I swear, it was like one of those games where you shift tiles around. Then the seats turned out to be double benches - but once we were sat, it was ok, with a rail for us to put our feet on.

So, the play takes the form of a Nobel Prize-winning negotiator (Peace, I presume) giving a lecture, in which he details his part in his country's peace negotiations when he was but a youngster - nephew of the President. It's a mostly lighthearted affair, as he makes a mess of everything, and the military general leading the opposing side rediscovers his old flame, the landlady of the remote inn where the negotiations are taking place. Meantime, our narrator's younger self develops a crush on the attractive young lady accompanying the general..

Much of the first half is audience interaction, as the narrator gets the audience to divide into pairs and perform negotiation tasks - to much hilarity. Some of the psychology is quite interesting - and as one of our group remarked, whatever else, we'd certainly have learned something by the end of the night! In fact, the "winner's curse" of the title refers to when you think you've won something too easily, so you don't trust it - perhaps the person with whom you're negotiating gives in too easily. It's interesting to see these negotiation psychologies acted out in the story onstage.

The second half gives itself more over to the play, as the story of the peace negotiations develops. And I found the ending quite moving. It's perhaps not the most polished of plays - but it's a very interesting idea, and certainly makes you think about what goes into negotiation. Cowritten by a negotiator, of course. Runs till the 11th of next month - check it out, if that's your thing! I was put in mind of the play again getting the bus home, and listening (by default) to a very outspoken young man discuss his future study plans with his mother. He was thinking about law - well, he could certainly talk enough for it! Whether he'd make a negotiator is another matter..

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland again. Now that the full weekend listings for Ireland are finally out, I'm thinking the weekend film is like to be The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser in an Oscar-nominated performance as a morbidly obese English teacher, looking to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Funnily enough, I was thinking the Omniplex, as Ennis doesn't have a time early enough - but the original listing I saw in the Omniplex was wrong, and now it seems they don't either! So I'll head to the Odeon - more expensive, but what can you do?

On Monday, I'm headed to Allegiance, starring George Takei in a musical based on the true story of his time in an American internment camp during the Second World War. Showing at the Charing Cross Theatre.

On Tuesday, back to the cinema - for Tár, finally, in which Cate Blanchett is Oscar-nominated for her part as a driven, genius classical conductor. Looks nice and tense - and I'm lucky to be able to see it, as it's no longer showing in Ireland, and is mostly showing in the daytime in London! Finsbury Park Picturehouse is the closest venue to me that's showing it in the evening.

On Wednesday, back with UITCS at the Orange Tree - first time in an age - for Duet for One, starring Tara Fitzgerald.

And next Thursday, my first event with The Hideout: Horror Sci-Fi Club London, who are at The Drayton Arms for a play, The Shroud of Charon - part of the pub's Lovecraft Festival!